HD remakes Archive

Hot on the heels of the Monkey Island HD remakes, LucasArts Singapore started work on a similarly styled remake of the developer’s popular adventure game Day of the Tentacle.

Although never officially greenlit, the project was pretty far along – some say as much as 80% complete. However, LucasArts executives didn’t get behind the project, with one source saying to Kotaku that “he company’s higher-ups had no interest in continuing to make what they called “legacy” titles like this one.”

It was recently rumoured that a Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster Limited Edition for PlayStation 3 was in the works, and here it is.

Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster Limited Edition includes a 24 page art book featuring concept artwork from the original games and a swish looking outer box.

Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster Limited Edition is confirmed for North America and Europe and is a pre-order bonus, so those buying the game receive a free upgrade to the Limited Edition if you pre-order at a major video game retailer (such as EB Games or JB Hi-Fi in Australia). I’ve got my order down already.

The rumour had been working through the grapevine, but today Capcom have confirmed that DuckTales Remastered, WayForward’s long-awaited reimagining of the NES classic will be released for PC, via Steam and other such digital distributions services.

DuckTales Remastered will be available for PC, PSN, XBLA and the Wii U’s eShop in the coming northern hemisphere summer and will set you back US$14.99.

In 2007, Ubisoft and Pune Studios teamed up to produce Prince of Persia Classic, a remake of the original Prince of Persia with the graphics and art style from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The release proved pretty popular, and Ubisoft took it to basically every platform under the sun.

Now the publisher and developer have teamed up to give Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame the same treatment. It has only been announced for smartphones and tablets at this stage, however. That’s a little concerning, given how combat heavy the sequel is – hopefully a console release isn’t too far off.

Those anxiously awaiting the release of Jet Set Radio HD will be happy to know that Sega have finally set both a date and price for the title.

Come 18 September, PlayStation Network users can get their grubby or not-so grubby mitts on the game – with Playstation Plus subscribers getting it a full week earlier (on 11 September). Unfortunately, those planning to pick it up for the Vita will have to wait until 16 October. Both the PSN and Vita versions of the game will set you back US$9.99/£6.49/€7.99.

Jet Set Radio HD via Xbox LIVE Arcade and Steam will be available 19 September for 800 Microsoft Points/US$9.99/£5.99/€6.49. There is currently no release information for the iOS and Android versions.

It was rumoured last week that a Yakuza 1 & 2 HD Edition was on the way, and the latest issue of Famitsu confirms this to be true.

Alongside HD visuals, the HD remake will feature improved load times, item box management in phone booths, and food you have eaten will be checked off in menus – making particular sides a tad easier! An official site has gone up with wallpapers and a comparison of the HD and PS2 versions’ screenshots.

Coming to PlayStation 3, Yakuza 1 & 2 HD Edition is planned for release November 1 in Japan and is priced at 5,290 yen. No news on a western release yet, but it is still very early days. Oh, and there is a trailer – check it out below.

Sega appears to have discovered the Saturn’s back catalogue with the announcement that NiGHTS into Dreams HD will be coming to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC later this year.

The HD version of the game will include 16:9 support, trophies/achievements, leaderboards and Saturn Mode, which allows you to play the game in its original glory. One has to wonder if the prettier HD version is based on the PlayStation 2 release that was exclusive to Japan.

Whatever version it is, you’ll get the opportunity to see that NiGHTs is totally overrated later this year.

You may recall that The Ratchet & Clank Trilogy: Classics HD was delayed last month. Originally the title was scheduled for release in Europe on May 16, and then retailers listed it for June 7 (which has come and gone) – but now it the Playstation Blog has announced the official dates for the HD collection’s PAL release.

The Ratchet & Clank Trilogy: Classics HD – which bundles the PS2 classics Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet & Clank 2: Locked & Loaded and Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal, will be available across Europe on June 27, in Australia and New Zealand on June 28 and in the UK and Ireland on June 29.